Checkmate
by MidnightRosebud
Summary: Mahou sentai Magiranger. It had started out as a quiet feeling. One that grew with each passing day until it reached that overwhelming epitome of happiness. But it was shattered...in one horrifying moment. Urara/Hikaru-sensei
1. Fate

**Author's Notes: **My friend recently got me into sentai about a month or two ago when Kaizoku sentai GoKaiger first started. I have been hooked ever since. I've gone through nearly all the sentai since Timeranger already, and am currently halfway through Gekiranger. I fell in love with Mahou sentai Magiranger along the way, and I especially adore the pairing of Urara/Hikaru-sensei. And thus I decided to give this fanfiction a shot. Constructive Critiscism is always welcomed.

**MAJOR SPOLERS** for Stage 47 thru the Final Stage.

_Disclaimer: Toei owns the sentai series. I am merely borrowing the characters for momentary amusement. _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Checkmate<strong>_

The golden-clad body of Sungel fell to the ground, his life fading.

_His vision had come true. He had fallen trying to defeat N-Ma. His fate was sealed. _

"Urara," came his strangled voice as his world began to grow dim.

_He hadn't wanted to get involved with her. Hadn't wanted to hurt her when he had seen his end so clearly. He knew somewhere deep down inside him that he would be the one who would cause her the most pain in the end. He had promised to make her happy; that he would cast his magic spell over the both of them… _

_But he had failed. _

Hikaru held up Urara's Oath Ring to the line of his fading vision. Her bright blue stone winked back at him in the gloom of that world.

_If only he had come to terms with his feelings for her sooner. Maybe then they could have been together longer. _

_He wanted to laugh at the absurdly short amount of time they had been allowed to share together, but the weight on his chest as he struggled to breathe was crushing his lungs. Was fate so cruel as to make him wait so long in solitude only to allow him to find her and lose her faster then he could blink? _

_He loved her. _

_He loved her with all of his heart. _

_Her confession had made his own heart sing with joy as it simultaneously plummeted to the pit of his stomach. He already knew he was fated to die, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to go down fighting. But then she had said those three magic words, 'I love you.' And everything had changed. He was going to defy his fate. _

_He had proposed to her in front of her entire family, and the sheer overwhelming joy that rushed through him when she said 'Yes,' had been the happiest moment of his life. _

His arm grew heavy.

_She had been the most beautiful bride the world had ever seen, in his eyes. The ceremony was intimate, shared with the only family he had ever known. The only family he had ever wanted to be a part of. When he had become a Heavenly Saint, he had lost any former memories of any family, but now she would become his family. He would belong to somebody. He had a place in the world again. He had someone who would look forward to him coming home…_

_But now he would never be coming home..._

His fingers holding her ring grew weak.

_She would forever be waiting in vain._

Dark shadows crept toward that beautiful sky blue stone.

'_Urara…I love you,' his thoughts whispered as his body lost the ability to speak. _

Her ring dropped from his fingers that could no longer feel. His vision turned to black as his lungs exhaled for the final time.

'…_I'm sorry…'_

The melodic sound of her ring hitting the ground in a bright 'ting' conjured up the image of her dazzling smile as his heart gave one last strangled push and with an infinite moment, stopped beating.


	2. Disbelief

_**Checkmate**_

"_Hikaru-sensei…? …NO!" _

How many can claim to have had their dreams come true, only to watch them shatter into a nightmare on the same day?

"_HIKARU-SENSEI!"_

I can…

* * *

><p>I had just been married to the love of my life when all hell broke loose.<p>

He went off to fight, my father along with him, and I had been left behind with my siblings and mother to guard the Surface World. Our home.

We had just been married.

Newlyweds.

Bonded in love, surrounded by everyone we loved most in our worlds.

And now he's gone…

His enemy killed him…

Murdered him.

Then taunted me with his death.

We had been hit hard by Dagon's powers. So hard, in fact, that we had lost our henshin, and were merely struggling to stand, let alone fight. But I had believed.

I had believed in the power of Hikaru-sensei's words. That his magic spell would protect our happiness. That he would come back to me, and we could begin our new lives together.

I had believed in the power of _yuuki_, our courage. We were a family who could make miracles happen. And we would.

But as I declared our indomitable will to fight, I had pushed Dagon too far. He attacked, and while I stood there, braced for the impact, Smoky rushed in to take the blow that was meant for me.

"_No…" _

I couldn't believe I had been so careless.

"_Smoky…"_

As his lamp disappeared in my hands I could only stare at where it should have been in horror.

…what had I done…?

But my mistakes weren't over yet.

Dagon shot at me once again, but I was still too stunned to register it until suddenly my mother was standing in front of me, protecting me.

"_Kaa-san!"_

She told us that we were her and father's children; that what our father was capable of, so were we; that we all had the potential for unlimited courage. That we would _definitely_ rise.

But then Sleipnir took her away.

Once again, I had lost my mother right in front of my eyes, and I hadn't done a thing to stop it. I had two members of my family snatched away from me within moments of each other when they were right at my fingertips.

I wanted to give in to the sense of loss, but we knew better now. We knew mother could and would fight with all of her power.

And we were no longer helpless. We too had learned to fight, to protect, to believe.

My siblings and I had stood once more; ready to fight Dagon with all the power we had in us. Mother would take care of Sleipner, Father and Hikaru-sensei would defeat N-Ma, and we would finish our fight with Dagon.

"_For the sake of the families in this world." _

We fought.

"_Checkmate."_

And we won.

Then like some cruel joke our elation was cut short.

An evil muttering filled the air, flashes of a sickening red light colored the once breathless blue sky, and from the haze a figure that had haunted our nightmares for the last year entered our world.

N-Ma.

His terrifying face filled our sky, and we stood stunned. How could this be? How had he gotten here? What had happened in the battle?

Silently N-Ma stretched out his arm and in a flash of light the body of Sungel dropped into the rubble behind us.

My breath caught. My heart stopped. All I could hear was a rushing of water, drowning out all thought.

And then N-Ma laughed…._laughed._

The scream that was ripped from my throat was the only other sound in the deadened air around us, as my siblings stood in horrified disbelief.

I ran.

"_Hikaru-sensei!"_

Ran before I even had the conscious thought to go to him.

He couldn't be dead. He couldn't. He had promised. He had promised we would be happy.

I fell on my knees before his prone body.

His Heavenly Saint form; the form that had been so exceedingly rare to even catch a glimpse of. So different from his form as MagiShine.

"_Hikaru-sensei!" _

I was afraid to touch him. Terrified not to. I didn't believe this was real. It was an illusion. It had to be.

I reached out a hand and touched the form. A warmth that was slowly seeping away met my hands, and I knew in that one horror-stricken moment that it wasn't an illusion. This was real. He was real. What my heart had been screaming was true.

I shook him as hard as I dared. He had to be asleep. Or unconscious. He merely needed to be woken up.

Why wouldn't he wake up?

"_No…"_

Was this all the happiness we were given?

Mere hours?

Was this the end…?

* * *

><p>I feel my heart wrench itself open as reality hits me, and I can't stop the tears. Every sob feels like it's tearing a large, gaping hole somewhere in the middle of my chest.<p>

This can't be happening…we've gone through so much! We've fought so hard; struggled against seemingly impossible boundaries and toppled them together.

I hear another thump behind me, and my stomach sinks even lower, if that's even possible.

I hear one of my siblings scream out for our father.

It can't be. Is this the true power of Infershia? To cunningly make us believe that we have triumphed over so much, only to fail mere inches from our goal?

I wrench my eyes away from my husband's body. I have to see with my own eyes…

A fresh wave of tears engulfs my already drowning heart.

Blagel, our father's Heavenly Saint form, lies mere feet away from Hikaru-sensei's. Kai is next to him in utter disbelief. For him, even if Hikaru-sensei had fallen, surely our father would still be standing. We knew from personal experience just how strong he was. Who in all of the world could stand up against the insurmountable amount of _yuuki_ our father possessed?

But somehow, even he has lost…

Houka has finally fallen to her knees, all her strength gone as sorrow rips through her. Makito is doing his best to support her, the steady eldest brother as always.

Tsubasa looks like a lost child. Unsure of where to go, or who to turn to next.

Who will we lose next? Mother? One of us?

How much pain can one person go through before they lose themselves entirely…?

Kai is yelling. Screaming out his rage, frustration and sorrow for all of us. I don't dare trust my voice again. If I start screaming, I may never stop.

He asks the questions we all have running through our heads: Why? Wasn't our father the ultimate warrior? Wasn't fighting like him the way to protect the surface?

I can't watch my youngest brother in pain. It hurts too much. I can't handle my own. The constant crushing waves of emotion threaten to drag me down. All I can do is stare at my husband's empty shell, and wish all of this away. Wish that we would all wake up to find this was nothing more than a horrendous dream.

I can barely hear N-Ma's response over the screaming in my own head. The tears won't stop. The overwhelming anguish has frozen my limbs. I'm terrified of leaving his side.

N-Ma's gravelly voice is informing us of our father's final words. That so long as we exist, the world will not be his. So now we are to become his final meal. He will combine our five flavors of fear.

…what more can he possibly take from me?

Makito's voice makes itself heard over my sobbing. He's telling us not to give up. That we need to gather our courage. Believe we have the capability.

What courage do I have left? What am I capable of believing in if even love cannot triumph over fate?

A sudden red light flashes across my vision. It condenses and wraps around my body, dragging me up and away from my husband's lifeless one.

I'm struggling wildly in the air, my siblings on both sides of me doing the same.

N-Ma's face is all I can see. It fills my vision with nothing but red.

He opens his mouth and it's as if the very energy of the world is drawn in.

As soon as it began, it stops, and we are surrounded by a barren wasteland.

A dead world.

All of us momentarily stop our struggling as we stare about us in awe. Where are we?

N-Ma's voice fills the still air to inform us that this is our future. This is the face of the Surface World.

We cry out in shock.

N-Ma devoured time itself?

I feel a sudden wrenching motion around my abdomen as N-Ma's solidified light flings us to the dark, cold ground.


	3. Breathe

_**Checkmate**_

The unforgiving ground sends a jolt through my body, another layer of pain to add to the already physical pain of loss I feel coursing through my system.

As if to add insult to injury, we suffer a devastating loss against our first real fight with N-Ma. It's as if some higher power is determined to not only drag us to the ground, but to rub our faces in it.

"…_there's nothing we can do…"_

This is it.

This is the end...

How did it get to this...?

* * *

><p>Makito, Houka, Tsubasa, Kai and I all run with what little strength we have left in us. We make it as far as a makeshift cave so that we can catch a reprieve. Too much has happened in too short a period of time. Our bodies are spent, our magic has been drained, our spirits crushed, our hearts…broken. We need a moment. Just one more moment…<p>

I hear Makito asking if this is it.

Houka wishing that she could eat with all of us again.

My knees finally give way; my mind suddenly filled with a rush of memories.

"_Your kiss has been received."_

"_Could it perhaps be that you like me?"_

"_You defiler of women!"_

"_I made apple pie." _

"_I'm returning to Magitopia. I don't think I will ever return here again. Thank you for everything…I'll never forget you guys…"_

"_I'm prepared to die. I know my end! I've seen it. I can no longer…give you guys anything. If I make any promises, I won't keep them…and they'd become lies…"_

"_Don't tell me…you're going already?"_

"_My lessons…end here." _

"_I don't want to leave any memories of me here. When I'm gone…I want you to have a new life, Urara."_

"_Because…you'll never return to the Surface World? …But I…won't forget you Hikaru-sensei. I definitely will never forget. Because…I love you…"_

"_Urara. I want you to be my wife."_

"_I'm so happy, but…"_

"_It'll be okay…Neither your Legend Power or sadness will go out of control…"_

What I feel right now? This isn't sadness. Sadness is too weak of a word. I feel an overwhelming darkness trying to swallow me whole, as if all the light in my world has been lost. There's a choking feeling as if all the air in the world has vanished.

I can't breathe.

Can't move.

Can't do anything but stifle my screams. And cry. The harsh, heart-shattering, chest-breaking sobs of anguish so exquisite I wonder if it would be better to feel nothing at all. To be numb to the pain. To remain in a chrysalis of shock.

"_One more time…"_

…what do I do?

"…_I want to see him again." _

What do I do now, Hikaru-sensei? We failed…

"_Urara. I was scared of hurting you…I didn't want to tie you down. I didn't understand your strength at all…"_

His words echo in my head. My strength?

What is my strength? How do I find it again?

"_My special spell is cast on you. The spell's name is happiness." _

Happiness…is it possible to be happy again?

What's left?

Even the very fabric of our world had been ripped away from us in this desolate future…

I hear a voice at the edges of my hearing. It's Kai; my youngest brother. The reckless, passion-fueled hot-head who would never let us give in, even when it seemed impossible before. I listen closer, drawing warmth from the years of familiarity; clinging to the last vestiges of home in this forgotten time.

His voice resounds in my heart. He's telling us that we should stand up. That we should fight. That we can make a miracle happen.

His words flood us with the belief that we had lost; _yuuki_ rushes back into our hearts.

We're not alone.

We've lost Tou-san and Kaa-san before, but we never lost each other. Even if…even if Hikaru-sensei is gone, I have to fight now more than ever for what family I have left. It's what he would have wanted me to do. To fight for the family we sought so hard to believe in and had only begun to share. If we fall here, if we falter now, everything we ever stood for would truly be meaningless.

So we stand.

We fight.

And _this_ time, through some miracle, we manage to beat N-Ma back. We push further and harder, and suddenly we are thrown back into our own world.

I feel the warm breeze on my face, the scent of the earth filling my senses, and the bright, brilliant sunshine on my back. It's like an embrace; I feel like Hikaru-sensei is welcoming us back.

I don't dare look back at where I know his body must still be lying. I can't face him right now. We have to fight. I can fall apart later, once we have defeated N-Ma; we will avenge our fallen family and reclaim our world.

Then like angels descending from heaven, Lunagel and Snowgel appear ready to fight alongside us.

Following close behind them is Kaa-san. Our hearts soar in dumbfounded delight; maybe everything is not so lost after all.

No sooner has our mother appeared then Sphinx enters the scene.

She tells us that Dagon was destroyed by his own weakness. She had tried to tell him that we have lost many important people to us.

My heart pangs in familiar sorrow as I fight to keep focused.

She continued to tell him that Infershia is not the dark world that he wished it would be. That we will change it.

Vancuria, who had revived her, stands beside her now.

N-Ma is enraged, unable to comprehend how everything has begun to fall apart before his very eyes.

I feel a rush of pride to be apart of this family; that I was given the chance to be apart of this moment in time.

Sphinx is staring N-Ma down as she calls out to Vancuria.

Yes Ma'am, Vancuria responds to her beckoning.

Sphinx's only reply is _"those two." _

My heart stutters, skips a beat, and then starts racing faster then a hummingbird's wing. She couldn't possibly mean…is it even possible?

Vancuria separates her being into Nai and Mare, the two vampire girls who have done nothing but torment us for a year, but may now possibly grant the deepest yearning of our hearts…

Nai and Mare look at each other only once with identical grins before nodding in some unspoken agreement. I watch in anticipation as they each place a hand over their hearts, and then reach out to where I haven't dared to look.

Now I can't tear my eyes away as a sudden glow engulfs the fallen bodies of my father and my husband.

As the glow infuses the forms of the two heavenly saints I hear Nai and Mare smiling as they inform us that it's their Queen Vampire, never dying power, starting and finishing each other's sentences as always.

Houka is already bounding over to them and shouting out her overwhelming thanks and joy.

I can't move.

Can't speak.

I'm waiting.

Waiting for any sign.

The light defuses and all I can see is Hikaru-sensei lying on the rubble, unblemished.

But is he…?

Could he really be…?

Give me a sign…anything.

Please, please, please.

My breath catches and my heart stops as I see the briefest of movements from his prone form. Unreserved rapture floods my entire body and I can't stop the ridiculous grin on my face as tears cascade down my face in relief, elation and sincere gratitude.

_He's alive!_


	4. Miracles

_**Checkmate**_

He felt a sudden weight remove itself from his chest. Air flooded into his lungs once more, and with an abrupt movement he opened his eyes.

Was he…?

It couldn't be the afterlife; it looked too much like Earth…

* * *

><p>The bright sunlight of the day hit his eyes and he worked not to wince. His thoughts were jumbled and confused.<p>

The last thing he remembered was fighting N-Ma with Blagel, but…then he fell…

Where was this_? _

The unmistakable sounds of N-Ma's rage and Houka's girlish squealing finally registered in his ears.

It couldn't be…couldn't possibly be…

He sat up so fast his head spun from the motion.

_Impossible…_

But there it was.

The crumbling buildings, the brilliant sunshine, the aromas of the Earth, the feeling of magic in the air. How was this possible?

He stood up in a rushed movement, staring about him in complete disbelief. It didn't make any sense. He was fated to die. _Had_ died. And yet…

"_This is….? The Surface World?"_

Somehow, by some miracle, he had made it back. He was _alive_. That meant-!

"_Hikaru-sensei!" _

His heart leapt in his chest and he spun on his heel.

She was already in motion; running to him as tears streamed down her face, her eyes shining with love and intense relief.

"_Urara!" _He could only cry out her name in shock and unabashed delight.

A mere arm-length from him she suddenly tripped and fell right into his arms. He pulled her in tightly, reveling in the warmth and security she radiated. That, more than anything, convinced him that he wasn't dreaming.

That this was real. That _she_ was real.

She was in his arms, right where she had always belonged. He had waited so long…so ridiculously long. Why had he ever held back before? _How_ had he had the strength to gently push her away? He knew now that he would never be able to let her go again.

She squeezed him back just as tightly as if she was afraid he would slip away from her for a second time.

Gently he loosened his hold on her and held her back to simply gaze at her face. She was smiling, shining from within, holding his gaze with all the love in her heart.

Out of nowhere, Smoky popped up next to their elbow reminding Hikaru of his promise to protect Hikaru's wife.

His wife…

Urara cried out Smoky's name in shock, and hugged him as she checked to make sure if he was okay.

It took a moment to register as Smoky's words tumbled in his head…Urara was his wife now. It had all happened so fast, but…it had been worth every moment.

He couldn't stop grinning.

Smoky declared that Hikaru's wish to defeat Infershia was going to come true, to not worry, but then he circled Hikaru as if checking for himself that his master was still in one piece, somehow hitting himself in the process and wincing at his blunder.

Hikaru looked back at Urara and they burst into laughter.

It felt wonderful to laugh. To be alive. To be with _her._

He should have admitted his feelings to her sooner, he knew better now, but he could only thank heaven that he been given a second chance. That _they_ had been given a second chance to start again, and he wouldn't waste a single moment of it.

But there was just one more thing to take care of first before they could do that.

N-Ma…

They turned to Urara's father, _his_ father-in-law now, for direction.

As a unit, as a family, they used their henshin.

Together they fought.

They poured their strength, their courage and their love into everything they had.

"_Maagi Magi Magend!" _

Their combined power was potent. There was no longer any lingering doubt. They _would_ win.

"_Checkmate!"_

And they did.

* * *

><p>The sun winked and sparkled off the waves of the ocean as the Ozu family stood along the shoreline; the sun's rays warm on their backs as the refreshing breeze teased their hair away from their faces.<p>

The years of uncertainty and doubt had finally come to a close.

Their family was whole again.

Hikaru heard Blagel's sigh of relief over the crashing waves as he stated that it was over.

No, Hikaru heard Makito respond. It had only just started.

Hikaru watched as his wife joined her siblings in a line in front of them, hand-in-hand. They had truly become legends in their own rights. They had created miracles. They deserved nothing short of all the happiness the world could give them.

The fighting had been hard.

It had been heart-wrenching.

But it had brought them all together with a purpose.

Hikaru doubted there would ever be a closer-knit family anywhere in any of the magical realms after this…

As they began to head for home Urara tightly took hold of his arm as if she was not quite ready to let him stray far from her side just yet. His responsive grin lit up her own face, knowing without words that he felt the same way.

Makito was right.

Everything started now.

And he couldn't thank the heavens enough that he was able to find the love of his life and be given the chance to share it with her.

Once they were away from the family's ever-watchful eyes maybe he could complete the ceremony they had started with that binding kiss that had been so abruptly interrupted…

Who knew? Maybe one day soon they could even begin a family of their own…

Hikaru followed Urara alongside the sandy ground, the sound of crashing waves filling their ears, and the brilliant warmth of sunlight embracing their bodies, uniting the two elements of life…

Water and Light.

Aqua and Gold.

Love and Courage.

Miracles.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>And so concludes my first attempt at a sentai story. I'm rather hooked on the sentai series currently, and while I still have some catching up to do, I am fairly far along. This means that I have several ideas swimming about in my head, and I think I shall try my hand at a couple more. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading this! May we meet again in the future ^_^ It should be an adventure~!

A special thanks to ThornedBlackRose88 for all the encouragement! :) All your reviews gave me a safer place to step with each chapter. Thank you again~!


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